Labour councillor criticises inaction over ‘anti-Semitic’ member
Adam Langleben calls on the party to remove a woman labelled as 'racist, pure and simple'
Labour was asked to kick out an anti-Semitic party member accused on Twitter by a Labour councillor in Barnet this week.
Cllr Adam Langleben, who works for the Jewish Leadership Council, said the unnamed woman ran a Twitter feed called ‘GazaBoatConvoy’ and sent a flurry of examples of posts and tweets which he described as “racist, pure and simple”.
Langleben, of the West Hendon ward, said: “I put in a complaint in July and to date no action has been taken. She continues to attend meetings and take part in street stalls. I believe in due process and I had hoped that my formal complaint would lead to a swift and speedy conclusion… But it has not.”
Among the invectives sent from the GazaBoatConvoy account have been messages claiming Jews “wring shekels” out of the memory of the Holocaust, referred to as an “indoctrination programme”.
Others claim Jews “love money and are a bunch of crooks,” that Zionist Jews “kill and kidnap their way around the world” and that British MPs who support Israel are “manipulated by a lobby for the interests of a foreign state”.
Still others inveighed against the new National Holocaust Memorial and questioned the loyalty of Diaspora Jews, while one image evidenced what Langleben described as “going to great lengths to photo-shop the @HolocaustUK logo to call the Holocaust ‘Zionist Fairy Tales’ and other deeply anti-Semitic imagery”.
Patrick Hunter, vice-chair of Hendon Constituency Labour Party, said the images were “truly horrific,” telling Langleben: “You had no choice but to go public… I can only add my voice to yours in calling for @UKLabour to act now.”
Labour’s front bench has repeatedly said the party takes a zero-tolerance approach to anti-Semitism, with Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry on Tuesday repeating that “there can be no place in our party for anyone who holds anti-Semitic views or who denies the right of Israel to exist”. She added: “Any people who hold those views must and will be drummed out of our party.”
So I am about to do something I do not normally do…
There is a member of the Labour Party in the constituency where I am a councillor. She is an antisemite. I put in a complaint in July and to date no action has been taken. She continues to attend meetings…— Adam Langleben ???????? (@adamlangleben) November 28, 2017
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
